Fitting a radio

[AdamS]

I’ve recently become the proud owner of G-AVKI (and many thanks to Ray for completing a fantastic restoration!) and am looking forward to Nippering around the skies of West Norfolk over the next few months. However, before I start flying away from my home field, the first job is to fit an aerial onto the aircraft.

I have a standard ICOM A6E handheld which lets me receive in the air but with very poor range and there is too much ignition interference to allow me to transmit anything comprehensible. I think that fitting a quarter wave aerial in front of the fin would solve the range issue and would hopefully dramatically cut down on the interference (before I start having to change leads and plugs etc).

I’d be very grateful for any advice on fitting an aerial to a Nipper and a steer from where best to buy the parts I need. I have limited hands-on engineering experience (and this is the first aircraft I’ve owned) so I’m looking forward to what will be a voyage of discovery.

Hope to meet some of you soon!

[Tipsy Flyer]

Hi,
Well done, I wish you many fun filled hours in your Nipper.
The antennae i use is the common old garden variety that most Cessna or Piper aircraft use. The way i'v mounted it, is a tad crude but has given no problems
I use a panel mount (Narco com 11A) and have great range and no interference what so ever. The correct coaxial cable to use with this antennae is RG 58 with BNC connectors on either ends. I have included a few photo's to help you on your way.
Regards
Glen

Antennae.JPG (88.2 KiB) Viewed 9800 times

Antennae1.JPG (43.87 KiB) Viewed 9804 times

Antennae2.JPG (38.53 KiB) Viewed 9786 times

Antennae3.JPG (49.81 KiB) Viewed 9796 times

Antennae4.JPG (35.69 KiB) Viewed 9795 times

[G-ARBG]

Adam,

You may wish to try this simple idea first utilising oven foil, a standard BNC connector and your existing ICOM aerial.

David G-ARBG

[G-NIPR]

Hello Adam,
Congrats on your purchase, you wont regret it. Most Nipper owners buy then hang on to them for years and years. I have had mine for over ten years now and still loving every trip I fly in it!
Back to your issue, my aircraft just has a tuned length of metal as an aerial and fitted as most are on the metal fairing just ahead of the rudder/fin.
It works fine and can be received at good distances. I am also using an Icom which is removable but semi-permanantly mounted. I am using Leburg ignition and with shielded plug caps and have no ignition noise. The plug caps are NGK motorcycle caps and really help with suppression. Also make sure you are using a microphone muff on your headset, most of the noise I had issues with was just LOUD ambient noise! A muff takes away the hiss of flying and makes the modulation clearer.
If you are wanting the 'proper' aerial that is shown in the first suggestion, I have a used one taken from a PA28. They are around £100 new, you can have this for £20 if you want it. Let me know if you are interested.
Best of luck with your machine, you WILL enjoy it.

Paul.
G-NIPR.

[DesH]

I'm also looking for some options to improve the TX range on my nipper, seems if I'm flying directly towards the recieving station I only have a range of about 15miles or so, if I turn 90Deg off track however my range is pretty much doubled!

I've just got a standard 'whip' type ariel attached to the fairing just in front of the rudder but mine is made of plastic and not metal which I suspect is the problem. I've been told it is already lined with foil but havent had a look myself yet so need to check that as my starting point. Quite like the idea of the rubber icom type on the bottom panel however, what sort of range are you getting with that?

Quite keen to get this resolved as I get rarther nervous flying over the wilds of Scotland and then discovering I cant make radio contact with anyone!

[G-ARBG]

In reply,

The method I desribed was an expedient to enable me to maintain contact with my nearest airport (Bristol) during local flights. It works very well and I can transmit and receive '5s' in practice up to 25miles. The system solved the problem of engine ignition interference encountered with the aerial in the cockpit but I have to agree with Paul in that the 'ambient' noise remains an issue. Personally I think Glens installation is more professional but my installation has proved to be effective, quick and simple.
A standard fixed aerial in this position would foul the ground when ground handling the aircraft.

David G-ARBG

[microlightgary]

Hi David,
it's perfectly acceptable to bend the aerial through 45 degrees or so to give adequate clearance when fitted underneath. I've seen this done on a friends Foxbat (and many other types) with no degredation in performance. I'm told that the 1st third or so of the aerial gives the signal strength and that the remainder is there to tune to the correct wavelength. Incidentally, we fitted a Flycom metal whip aerial to KI in the usual place just forward of the rudder. We chose there as the panel is metal, ensuring a good ground plane. Hoping to fly and test it properly this weekend, but if the performance proves poor, we'll relocate to underneath and bend as described. Adam or I will post something to let you know how we got on

In reply,

The method I desribed was an expedient to enable me to maintain contact with my nearest airport (Bristol) during local flights. It works very well and I can transmit and receive '5s' in practice up to 25miles. The system solved the problem of engine ignition interference encountered with the aerial in the cockpit but I have to agree with Paul in that the 'ambient' noise remains an issue. Personally I think Glens installation is more professional but my installation has proved to be effective, quick and simple.
A standard fixed aerial in this position would foul the ground when ground handling the aircraft.

David G-ARBG

[G-BLMW]

Hi David

I like the idea of the ICOM aerial underneath............the simple ideas are the best . I use a whip aerial just in front of the rudder but I have had range issues. I think I might try your idea to see if it makes a difference. Quick questions, are the BNC connectors 50 ohm or 75 ohm (its not in my ICOM manual).

Cheers

Stuart